The CATARACT was a propeller ship that was built in 1852 by B.B. Jones in Buffalo. It had dimensions of 150 feet in length, 25 feet in width, and 11 feet in depth, with a tonnage of 352 tons (394 tons in some sources). The ship operated on Lake Erie and was primarily used for transporting general merchandise.
On June 16, 1861, the CATARACT met with a tragic fate. While sailing about five miles off Erie, Pennsylvania, the ship caught fire under its boiler, potentially due to leaking alcohol from its cargo. The fire quickly engulfed the ship’s stern, turning it into an inferno within minutes. Despite attempts to launch one of the ship’s boats, the flames prevented the crew from escaping in it. However, they were able to escape in the ship’s other small boat, along with a few others who were adrift on wreckage. They were eventually rescued by the schooner ST. PAUL and a fishing boat.
The CATARACT was owned by Frank Perew, and its master was Captain William H. McNally. After the incident, the wreck of the ship was towed into Misery Bay by the tug BROOKS and scuttled. The ship was never rebuilt.
Interestingly, it was reported at the time that Captain Mosher of the ST. PAUL, who rescued Captain McNally and the carpenter of the CATARACT, had also rescued the same two individuals when the propeller INDIANA was lost on Lake Superior in 1858.
Additionally, there is a possibility that this CATARACT is the same ship that stranded in a fog on the Fox Islands in Lake Michigan in 1855. However, further details about this incident are not provided in the given information.
The CATARACT had undergone major repairs in 1860 before meeting its unfortunate end in 1861.
